CMS Students Learning on the Move!

CHARLOTTE, NC — Sit still. Be quiet. Pay attention. Not exactly the recipe for keeping students engaged.

Traditional methods of teaching are making way for a new, more dynamic style that stimulates both body and mind. One Charlotte-Mecklenburg school is on the front line of kinesthetic learning.

It looks like fun, because it is! Ask most kids, and they’ll say school is boring. But students at Winget Park Elementary School in Steele Creek may give you a different answer.

“They are very engaged throughout the day,” says Winget Parl kindergarten teacher Darnell Murillo. “There’s no time to be bored. They’re always learning. And they want to learn.”

Winget Park put together grants to train teachers, and outfit five kinesthetic classrooms and an active learning lab with with desks with pedals, chairs that move, balance boards and varieties of active learning. Giving students the chance to bring the brain and body together.

“We have the furniture to get our brains what?” asks first grade teacher Adrian Austin.
“Working,” answer the kids in unison.
“And our bodies?” asks Austin.
“Moving,” reply the students.
“Absolutely,” Austin continues. “You may go back to your play list. Thank you. So they know why we have the equipment, which is really important for me and for them.”

“A two to three minute break can really gain about 15 to 20 minutes of focus time for the kids when they’re in the classroom,” says Principal Jason Bissinger. “So, again, our teachers have found that to be a great resource that they’re using daily.”

And learning can be emotional. If a student is in a positive state when information is being taught, they are more likely to make connections and build bridges to the new information.

“They enjoy it,” says Austin. “They like reading. They like having a good time. They like working and moving together.”

“Do you usually sit here?” I ask students in Ms. Austin’s class. “Do you like this place?”
“Yeah!” says one girl. “I love it!”
“We get to choose our spots,” says the boy next to her.
“We get to keep it until the end of the month,” she continues.

Academic achievement increases. Behavior issues are reduced. Students here are reaping the benefits of instruction focused on the brain/body connection.

“Our kids love it,” says Principal Bissinger. “Our teachers love it. Our parents love it. So our goal now is how do we keep expanding on it.”

Smithfield Elementary School also has a kinesthetic sensory lab, and incorporates kinesthetic learning strategies. CMS says both Winget and Smithfield are models for other schools to learn from.